Eventually, years of poor farming practices and drought led to the devastation of the Dust Bowl. In 1934, severe erosion caused by the wind (in orange), occurred more frequently in the Midwest and West. Severe erosion caused by water (in green), affected some areas in the West and Midwest, but also impacted areas in the South.
With no more grasses to anchor the topsoil in place, it became easier for the wind to blow away the soil. As a result, the windblown remnants of the exhausted, eroded, drought-stricken topsoil developed into enormous clouds of dust that engulfed homes, equipment, etc. These clouds (see image at right) plagued the farmers of the Western and Midwestern states. The valuable topsoil, once the farmer’s friend, had become an enemy.
The effects of the Depression combined with the erosion of the topsoil left farmers destitute. When the farms failed, those “forced off the land in the South in the mid 1930s had to leave not only their farms but their home states, because there were no jobs” (“Farmers and the Great Depression.”). The farmers were in the midst of natural and economic disaster as a result of the Dust Bowl.
The Land Turned to Dust: The Dust Storms